Lydia
by Nightflame203
Summary: "I spent three years of my life raising myself, with some help from animals. I grew up in a forest that humans were scared of entering because of legends. I think it makes sense why I'm this way." This story is a fictional biography of an OC of mine that is so complex only the OC's name works as a title. Rated T for death, kissing, and slight violence
1. Prologue

Prologue

One night in a small village, a woman was quietly giving birth. It was painful, but if she screamed her whole plan would be ruined.

"It's a girl!" the woman exclaimed softly. After her child was quieted and cleaned, the woman laid her in a crib.

"I'll name you Lydia," she decided, writing her newborn daughter's name on a small piece of paper. Then she placed the paper on the crib, and picked Lydia up again.

When she had sang her daughter to sleep, the woman gathered up her few belongings and put them in a pack, then put on a cloak and walked out of the door. As she walked out of the village, she looked back and whispered, "I'm sorry, Rumplestiltsken. I just don't love you anymore." The woman stopped looking back, and continued walking towards the port.


	2. Chapter 1

Twelve year old Lydia woke up in her bed to darkness and eerie silence. Strange, she thought. Lydia rolled over and squinted at the clock. It said 7:30. Wow, Anna must be tired, Lydia thought, slightly concerned. Usually her little sister was up at 6:30 or sooner with the light on and paper dolls out. Lydia got up, and quietly climbed down the ladder from the top bunk that she slept in. Once she had gotten down, Lydia walked over to her chest of drawers, and put her glasses on, then took out her braid and put on a headband.

She grabbed her iPod touch and turned on the flashlight, then aimed it at her sister, who was still asleep on the bottom bunk. Lydia hesitantly held her finger under Anna's nose to see if she was still breathing, expecting to feel warm air on her finger. Lydia gasped when she didn't get what she was expecting. Lydia ran to turn the light on, then ran back to her sister. She put her hands on Anna's chest to see if the little girl's heart was beating. Lydia started whimpering when she didn't feel a heartbeat. I have to tell mom and dad, Lydia thought. They'll know what to do.

Lydia ran upstairs so fast it was like her feet were flying. When she slowed down, she saw that her brother's light wasn't on, and a feeling of dread crept into her. "Andrew never sleeps in!" she exclaimed, opening her brother's door. Lydia performed the same tests on Andrew that she did on Anna, and then started crying when she got the same results for her little brother as her sister.

As she walked into her parents' room, still crying, she looked at her parents. Even with all the noise she made, they still didn't stir. "Oh no," Lydia moaned, performing the tests once again. She started sobbing when she realized both her parents were dead.

"What am I gonna do?" the girl wailed. Then she remembered what her mother had said before.

"If something ever happens to your father and I, Aunt Terra and Uncle Jarem will take care of you," Lydia flash-backed to that moment, then ran towards the phone.

"Come on, come on!" Lydia

muttered, scrolling through the list of contacts. "Aha! Aunt Terra and Uncle Jarem."

Lydia hit the dial button, then waited and waited for someone to pick up. "Please pick up, please, please, please, please, please!" Lydia cried anxiously, waiting. She punched the dial button again when the voicemail came up, only getting the same results. Lydia kept trying for 30 minutes, then gave up and broke down crying again. Then she got a phone call, and leaped towards the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" a familiar female voice asked.

"It's Lydia Noblin," Lydia replied.

"Hey Lydia, can I talk to your parents? It's Lizzie."

"Why do you need to talk to my parents?" Lydia questioned her friend, sighing.

"I think my siblings and parents are dead!" Lizzie started crying.

Hearing her friend cry reminded Lydia of her problems, and Lydia started to cry also. "I'm so sorry, Lizzie. But you wouldn't be able to talk to my parents either."

"Why not?"

"I'm dealing with the same thing you are."

"Your parents are dead?" Lizzie asked, her voice garbled by the phone.

"Yes, and Andrew and Anna," Lydia started sobbing again.

"Well, I already knew I wasn't the only one, because before I called you I was on the phone with Rachel, and she had the same results, only Danielle was still alive."

"What's going on, and why is it only my friends who are surviving this?" Lydia murmured to herself.

Lizzie must have heard, because she replied, "I really don't know."

Just then, Lydia got an idea. "Can you call Rachel and Danielle back? Tell them to meet us at my house, front yard."

"Ok, and I'll take it you want me there too?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Duh! Of course."

"I'll go on and tell them now," Lizzie said, getting off the phone.

Lydia's stomach started growling. She looked at the clock. 8:15? I'll go on and get breakfast, she thought, walking into the tiny kitchen. Once she poured the milk in her cereal, Lydia sat down at the table, only to feel sick to her stomach. I better eat outside, Lydia decided, not wanting to eat in a house full of dead people.

Once she stepped outside and breathed in the morning air, she sat down on the steps and started eating. Across the street, three girls passed Lydia's house. Lydia squinted, starting to recognize them. "Millie! Sarah! Julia!" she called, waving to her friends. The three girls turned and saw her, then ran across the street. "Lydia!" Sarah and Millie called, while Julia waved.

"Are all your family members dead?" Lydia asked once her friends were across the street.

The three girls looked at each other, and then Julia and Millie nodded sadly, while Sarah replied, "How did you know?"

"'Cause it's the same with me," Lydia said, pointing at her house with her thumb. "Why do you think I'm eating outside?"

"Good point," Sarah replied, nodding her head slightly to the right side.

"Anyway, some of my other friends are coming over, and they have the same problem also. I've got an idea, so if you could stay here with us, that would be great," Lydia commented, while all her friends nodded. "By the way, how are you all together?"

"Well, last night the three of us had a sleepover," Millie replied.

"You had a sleepover without me?" Lydia said in a baby-ish tone, a mock frown on her face.

Julia smiled while Sarah and Millie laughed. "Yes, sorry," Sarah replied, still laughing.

The four girls chatted and laughed for about thirty minutes, and then three more girls crossed the street. "Lizzie, Rachel, Danielle!" Lydia called, waving her friends over.

"Lydia!" Rachel ran across and gave her friend a bear hug, while Lizzie and Danielle waved.

"Hey, good you all brought a backpack," Lydia replied.

"So what's your plan?" Lizzie brought up, obviously a little impatient.

"Well, I'd better go on and pack a backpack too, so can you all just wait here a minute?" Lydia went back inside.

Once she had all the stuff she needed, Lydia left the house. "And I'm never entering that house again," Lydia concluded, walking back outside.

"So what's your plan?" Millie questioned her friend.

"Well, I thought of a good place we could all live together in, at least for a bit. I can only think of one place where there isn't likely to be dead people."

"Which is?" Sarah asked.

"The building of Frontier Access," Lydia replied confidently.

"Do you know how long it would take to walk there?" Lizzie asked.

"Hour, hour fifteen minutes. But we're not walking, silly," Lydia described, and Lizzie looked utterly lost.

"Well then, what will we do?" she asked, looking confused.

"Well, here's the dangerous part. We're going to drive my family's van. Or at least attempt to," Lydia commented, laughing nervously.

"O-kaaaaaay, can I drive?" Lizzie asked brightly.

Lydia gave her best friend a look. "No, I'm the tallest, it would be safest for me to drive."

"But I want to drive!" Lizzie cried, obviously faking it.

Lydia glared at her friend and shook her head. "No!"

"Pweese?" Lizzie asked, giving Lydia Bambi eyes.

"Not this time. Next time we drive, you can," Lydia retorted tartly, finally losing it against her best friend.

Lizzie fake pouted, with a mock angry look on her face. "Fine," she muttered.

"Kay, let's all get in the van," Lydia commented, walking to the grand caravan.

"Is there room?" Julia asked softly, talking for the first time.

"There's is seven of us, and there is room for seven people in the van, so yeah."

"But three of you will have to squish in the back," Lizzie commented. "Can I sit in the passenger's seat, Lydia?"

"If you want to be one of the first to possibly die, sure!" Lydia replied, sounding surprisingly bright.

"The three of us will sit in the back," Sarah said, grabbing hold of Millie and Julia.

"I guess that leaves Danielle and I to sit in the middle," Rachel said, shrugging.

Everyone got into their seats. "Is everyone buckled? This will be a lot more dangerous than normal, so everyone needs to be buckled," Lydia said, looking in the rear view mirror. "Man, it feels weird to sit here."

"Yes, everyone's buckled," Danielle commented.

"Okay, now which one's the gas pedal?" Lydia muttered.

Lizzie facepalmed. "Just try the different pedals," she groaned.

Lydia pressed one, and there was a loud screech. "Okay, that's the brake pedal." She pressed a different one, and nothing happened. "I'm assuming that's the emergency brake, but that means this one," she pressed the final pedal, "Is the gas pedal."

The van bumped forward, then stopped, sending everyone leaning forward suddenly. "Sorry!" Lydia called. The van bumped again. "Sorry," Lydia said again. This repeated a few times, then Lydia finally got the van driving, but not smoothly.

"Lydia?!" Lizzie said.

"Yeah?!" Lydia asked.

"Can you turn?!" Lizzie cried. The van was nearing a tree on the end of a block.

Lydia tried. "The wheel's heavier than I thought!"

The van crashed into the tree. "Is everyone okay?" Lizzie called.

"Yes!" everyone called back.

Lydia was trying to figure out how to back up when she saw Lizzie glaring at her. "What?"

"Can I drive now?" Lizzie asked.

Lydia thought a moment before replying, "That's fine, I guess. Just don't kill us."

Lizzie laughed. "You're more likely to kill us than I am!"

Lydia glared at her while stepping out of the van, and walking up to the passenger's door. "Move over," she grumbled.

Lizzie backed the van up, then continued driving. "Can you give me instructions on how to get there?"

"Turn left now," Lydia said.

They started nearing a dead end. "Turn left again, quickly!" Lydia yelled.

The van swerved around a sharp turn. "Well, a nice thing about this situation is that we don't have to worry about the traffic lights or crashing into someone else," Lydia commented positively.

"Now what do I do, Lydia?" Lizzie asked.

"Just keep going straight until I say to turn."

"So," Rachel started talking. "What will we do when we get there?"

Lydia shrugged. "Survive. Try to enjoy this."

"You make it sound easy," Millie said.

"Well, this way we can do all sorts of things. It's just us, and there may be others, but I think we're all kids that are still alive," Lydia said, trying to sound positive. "Okay, turn right."

Lizzie turned onto the curvy road, and kept driving.

"Now turn left," Lydia directed. "I think you know the way from here."

As they went straight, Lydia saw two girls walking in the same direction. "Lizzie, stop the car!"

Lydia stepped out of the van, and waved. "Can you come here?"

The two girls came closer and Lydia recognized them. "Lucy? Opal?"

"Lydia!" they cried in unison.

"Are you going anywhere?" Lydia asked her friends.

"We were going to Frontier, it's a safe place to stay, with this apocalypse going on," Opal replied, emphasizing the apocalypse.

"Hey! That's where we're going!" Lydia commented happily. "Lizzie, you can go on and continue, I'll walk with them."

As the van drove off, Lydia, Lucy, and Opal continued walking. "Are your parents and siblings dead? Because mine are," Lydia asked.

"Yes, I never thought I'd miss my siblings," Opal replied, while Lucy nodded.

After a little bit, the girls got to the Frontier Access parking lot. "I'm not sure I want to go inside yet. I think I'll be in the backyard," Lydia said, walking off.

When she was in the giant recess yard, blue sparkles suddenly fell all around Lydia, and hundreds of people and a blue fairy appeared. "Hello, Lydia. I'm the Blue Fairy, but you can call me Blue," the fairy said,

"How did you get here, and who are these people?" Lydia asked.

"I used a magic bean to get here. These people are all your friends of the past, present, and future of this world. They are the only people other than you and me who are still alive."

"How did everyone else die?"

"I killed them," the fairy replied simply.

"What?! Why?!" Lydia questioned angrily. "You killed my family!"

"Yes, I did, but they all passed away peacefully in their sleep. I killed them because I needed to gather you and all your friends together, with no problem."

Lydia scoffed. "So creating an apocalyptic end for earth was the easiest way, huh?"

"It's much better than if I had blown up the planet, which was my second choice," Blue said calmly.

Lydia facepalmed. "Are you sure you're a good guy? And you still haven't answered my question, why did you kill everyone and bring us all," she gestured at everyone there, "and bring us all together?"

"Because you are very special, Lydia, and anyone who is friends with you is also special," the blue fairy waved her wand, and everyone except her and Lydia disappeared.

"Where'd they go?"

"To the world they belong in. They now have no recollection of their life here, and neither will you, in a minute," Blue waved her wand.

"Wait!" Lydia cried. Then she blacked out.

Oooohhhhh, dah dah daaaaaahhhhhh, sorry about the part cliffhanger. :) I just had to end the chapter like that. And sorry about all the dying and sadness, but it's mostly over now. I know it's very apocalyptic, and so sorry if you don't like that, but don't worry, the story will get better ;) ;) And in case you couldn't tell, the Blue Fairy is the one from Once Upon A Time.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi there! Ok, so now it is time to begin the complicated disclaimers. I DO NOT OWN PHINEAS AND FERB, THOUGH I WISH WITH ALL MY HEART I DID. ANY CHARACTER THAT DOES NOT SEEM FAMILIER IS PROBABLY MINE. I ALSO DO NOT OWN "ROCK WHAT YOU GOT" OR SUPERCHICK, ALTHOUGH I PRETEND TO IN THE STORY**

 **Now, enjoy the story** :P

Three year old Lydia woke up in a forest similar to the forest she was just in, but it was different. It must have been that portal I fell through, the little girl thought. It's weird to be out of that forest. The young girl had to leave her family's home at a very young age, because her mother was dead and her father wouldn't take care of her. Lydia has magic, which then she did not know very much about, and three years later she still doesn't, so she accidentally teleported herself to a nearby forest, where she was raised by the animals that live there. One day as she was wandering in that forest, she accidentally fell through a portal that randomly opened up, and the girl blacked out for a short period of time, then woke up in that forest.

As Lydia wandered through the new forest, she came upon a stage, with angry people in the audience. "I'm sorry, but she changed her mind. Teresa will not be singing here today!" a man on the stage cried.

"We came here for a song!" someone from the stage called out.

The man on the stage nodded. "I know. Is there anyone who would like to sing?"

Lydia stepped forward. "I will," the girl replied in a confident voice.

Everyone in the audience started laughing, but the man on stage looked at the little child. "Are you a good singer?" he asked.

"I think so, but that's my opinion," Lydia replied.

"Do you have a good song to sing?"

The three year old nodded. "Yes, I think so."

"Well then, why don't you come up here?" the stage man said, gesturing towards the stage.

Lydia stepped on stage, ignoring the guffawing coming from the audience. "What's your name?" the man on stage asked. "Mine is John."

John held the microphone down for the girl to talk into it. "I'm Lydia!" Lydia said cheerfully, waving at the audience.

"So what song will you be singing?" John questioned.

Lydia answered, but not in the way the man expected. "How about you wait until I start singing it, so you can guess?"

"I...I guess that's fine," John said, stepping off the stage.

Once he was off, Lydia began singing. (Rock What You Got by Superchick starts playing, Lydia sings in the real singer's voice)

As the girl sang, the audience stopped laughing, and she could tell they looked surprised at her very mature sounding voice. Lydia was also surprised how it sounded. The last time she sang, her voice was soft and childish, not strong and mature. Lydia was not as surprised at the fact that the right music just randomly started playing, with nothing playing it, though.

When she finished, everyone clapped and cheered. Some even yelled "Encore!"

Lydia shook her head to these calls, and stepped off of stage. While she was walking off, a man with an olive green coat that said MM stepped in front of her. Next to him was a man that looked about thirty-two, with black hair and a mustache.

"Hello, Lydia. You can call me Major Michael. That was some impressive singing," the man in olive green said in a kind voice. "Where are your parents?"

Lydia winced. Even though she wasn't asked that very often, it still stung. "I don't have any," she said, even though she knew it was a lie. Out of jealousy, Lydia's father killed her mother, and so Lydia got scared of her father and ran away, even though it was accidental.

Major Michael shared a sympathetic look with the younger man, then said, "Would you like to live with us?"

Lydia thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, and this young man's name is Francis. Now, why don't you come with us?" So Lydia followed those two men out of the forest.

Once she got there, Lydia was surprised to see a lot of animals, and Francis handed her a broom. "Major Michael was hoping you could sing for everyone every now and then, and help me clean up." Lydia shrugged and grabbed the broom. Who cares, they're giving me a home. This is a package deal, Lydia thought.

"It's the least I can do," Lydia said, starting to sweep.

After about two weeks had passed, Lydia had gotten used to the daily routine. Wake up early, eat breakfast, help serve breakfast, clean up after breakfast, eat lunch, help serve lunch, clean up after lunch, have some free time in the afternoon, eat dinner, help serve dinner, clean up after dinner, and every now and then, sing for everyone. This went on for days, until one day Major Michael called everyone together in one room, humans and animals alike. He and Francis left that morning to see if they could find more agents, or agents in training, AITs for short. They must've found someone good.

Major Michael entered first, followed by Francis. Francis was carrying an animal carrier, with a teal object inside. Lydia wasn't able to tell what the object was.

"Thank you for your patience," Major Michael said. "Francis, please open the door to the carrier."

Once Francis opened the door, Lydia could sort of tell what the object was, but wasn't able to fully because it stayed huddled at the back of the carrier. "Sir, he won't come out!" Francis grunted.

"You can't blame him. We did take him from his home, so he's cautious. That's good," Major Michael said.

Lydia decided to try something. She got in front of the carrier, and crouched down so she could make eye contact with the animal in the cage. Francis stepped up to stop her, but Major Michael held him back. "Let her. She seems to know what she's doing."

"Hi, I'm Lydia. What's your name?" Lydia asked the teal animal. As she got closer, Lydia could tell that it was a platypus. I must be in a different world, Lydia thought. Platypi looked different in the world Lydia was born in.

Francis scoffed and looked Major Michael. "She does realize that humans can't understand platypi, right?"

"I'm Perry," the platypus said, but it sounded like a chatter to the humans other than Lydia. "Can anyone other than you understand me?"

"I don't think so, but I do know these people won't hurt you. I've lived with them a couple weeks, and they haven't hurt me."

"Really?" Perry asked.

"Yep. Now why don't you come out and meet everyone?" Lydia said brightly.

"O-Okay," Perry said hesitantly, walking out of the carrier.

As Perry walked out, Lydia slipped back into her position, letting Major Michael speak. "Hello, why don't you take this so everyone can understand you." Major Michael handed Perry a small object. "This is a translator. Just put it on the roof of your mouth. It'll stick there."

Perry stuck it in his mouth, then said, "I'm Perry."

"Hello Perry, I'm Major Michael, and this is Francis," Major Michael said, gesturing towards him and Francis.

Lydia grinned as she saw the yellow fox...Kiki, blush when she made eye contact with Perry.

Perry didn't seem to notice, though, and was listening intently to Major Michael.

"Okay, Perry. I want to apologize for taking you from the Tri-State Forest, but we saw what you're able to do. How would you like to use those skills to fight evil?" Major Michael asked, looking at the platypus.

Perry seemed a little hesitant to answer. "Well, I don't really like hurting people, whether they deserve it or not."

Francis groaned and facepalmed, while Major Michael just stood still, wearing a thoughtful look on his face. "I suppose that's good, when you think about it. If everyone enjoyed hurting others, we'd be no different from the people we fight."

Perry brightened up. "Then I could fight, I guess."

"Well then, how about we train you, and give you a home?"

"Sure!" Perry replied happily.

"All right then, Lydia will show you around," Major Michael gestured to Lydia.

"Okay," Lydia blinked, standing still, not realizing what Major Michael said. Everything was silent for a moment, then what Major Michael said sank into Lydia. "Oh! Okay, come on Perry," Lydia realized, walking off.

"So this is the classroom for normal, everyday school," Lydia pointed a room out to Perry. "You know, math, science, English, that sort of thing." Lydia and Perry had just left the meeting room, and Lydia was showing the platypus around. They walked up to another classroom. "This is where you're going to be taught the benefits, history and similar stuff about crime fighting."

The girl and the platypus came up to the last, largest classroom that was three times as large as a normal school gym. "And this is where you will train."

They passed a huge set of domes. "These are the dorm rooms, I'll show you yours later. Then this is the cafeteria, for Agents and AITs both."

Perry looked confused. Lydia, noticing the expression on his face, explained. "You're an AIT now. AIT is the acronym of Agent in Training."

"Oh," Perry spoke for the first time in about 20 minutes. "What's that door on the other end of the cafeteria?"

Lydia looked where he was pointing. "That's the entrance to the agents' offices and gadgets. You'll commonly go there someday."

Major Michael's voice boomed over the PA. "Alright AITs, time to go to your dorm room."

Lydia led Perry back to the dorm rooms and showed the platypus his. "You're sharing this room with another AIT. A chihuahua, I think."

Perry nodded. "Okay," he said. "Good night!" the platypus walked into his room, as Lydia walked to the other end of the AITs' part of the building.

One month later, Perry had become one of the best AITs, and was still one of the youngest. As Lydia was mopping up one part of the training room floor, Major Michael was teaching every AIT as a group. That meant fake fights between the AITs for training. "Who would like to fight Perry?" Major Michael asked, scanning the AITs for a volunteer. There weren't any.

"I will!" Lydia spoke up.

Francis, who was sweeping another part of the training room, scoffed, as Major Michael sighed. "You know that it has to be an AIT that will fight him. Now please get back to your mopping."

Instead of obeying, Lydia didn't step down. "Why not just make me an AIT?"

"Because you're not an animal, that's why," Francis called out, Major Michael nodding his head in agreement.

"Well, I was raised by animals for three years of my life," Lydia retorted politely. "Which means..."

Major Michael finished her sentence. "You have some animal instincts."

Lydia nodded. "Yes, yes I do."

"Well then, I don't see anything wrong with you becoming an AIT. You are now an official Agent in Training," Major Michael saluted.

Lydia beamed and saluted back, but Francis did not appear happy with the sudden turn of events. "Sir, who will help me now?"

Major Michael looked disapprovingly at his young adult intern. "A little over a month ago, you were just fine by yourself. You'll be fine again."

"Fine," Francis muttered, not happy with the answer he got.

"Now, I think the whole reason this happened was because I offered to fight Perry," Lydia reminded her major.

The major looked at her, a proud look on his face. "You're right," he turned to Perry. "And so both of you will go to the netted area of the gym, as we all watch."

The platypus and human girl nodded, then followed Major Michael's instructions. Once they were inside, Major Michael held out a flag. "Take your stances."

Lydia, who had seen enough AIT training, got into the same position she had seen everyone else get into. Perry took the same stance. It was legs spread apart, the right leg slightly further forward than the left, and you crouch slightly. The arms are in a similar position, but the left arm is further forward than the right, unlike the legs. "And go!"

Perry leapt forward, lunging for Lydia. She smirked, expecting this, and quickly rolled to the right. Perry took her by surprise and actually aimed himself towards the right as she moved away. She would've ran to make some space between them, but that would make her appear a coward. Instead, she decided to take the offensive and attack him. Keeping in mind that if Major Michael knew she had magic he wouldn't let her use it, Lydia just aimed a punch towards the platypus. He nimbly dodged it, causing Lydia to try to grab him. He leapt out of her hands and began running around Lydia in a circle, probably trying to get her dizzy. Lydia smirked. I don't get dizzy, she thought smugly. While Perry was running around, she kicked him out of his circle to the net. "And Lydia wins!" Major Michael called out. "Impressive, especially for a first time battle."

Lydia walked over to Perry, who was rubbing his head. "You okay?"

Perry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Lydia held out her hand and helped him up. "Thanks."

Lydia found the two of them talking the rest of the day. I guess I made a new friend, she thought happily, as she was in her bed that night. She yawned and turned the lamp off, falling asleep quickly.

Two months later, Lydia woke up to snow outside. "It's snowing!" She ran out of her dorm room and into the cafeteria to get breakfast. As she sat down at a table holding her tray, Major Michael walked up to the front of the cafeteria. "Hello, agents, AITs. As you may have noticed, it is snowing outside today."

"Agents, this announcement is for the AITs, by the way," Francis interrupted.

Major Michael confirmed Francis' statement with a nod of his head. "Yes, that is correct. Anyway, AITs, you may have the morning off from training to play in the snow, if you want." There were a lot of cheers after that sentence.

"Alright. I'll leave you to your breakfast."

Perry, who had sat down next to Lydia as the major was talking, turned to Lydia. "What's snow?"

Lydia and Pinky the chihuahua, who was one of Perry's other friends, looked at him in disbelief. "You don't know what snow is?!"

Perry shook his head, and so Pinky gave a quick summary. "It's that white powder you see outside. Snow is really fun to play in."

Lydia was thinking out loud. "Of course you don't know what snow is. Did you hatch a couple weeks before you were brought here?" Perry nodded, and Lydia continued. "Okay, that was three months ago, early September. Which means you hatched in late August. Of course you've never seen snow." She facepalmed. "How could I be such an idiot to not remember?"

Perry spoke up. "You're not an idiot."

Pinky explained. "It was a rhetorical question, Perry."

"What's a rhet, ummm, reorital question?" Perry asked, trying to figure out how to pronounce it.

Lydia spoke up again. "Don't worry about it."

The three kids finished breakfast, then left the cafeteria and ran for the doors that the other AITs were running out of. Once they were outside, Perry hesitantly touched the snow with his beak. "It's cold! You didn't warn me it would be cold."

Kiki the fox, who had become Perry's bully over the months, smirked and walked up to him. "They didn't think you could handle it, duh."

Perry looked up, a defiant expression on his face. "Why would I believe you?"

Lydia smirked at Kiki. I'd like to see her retaliate that, she thought smugly. Kiki looked at the young platypus, a mock hurt expression on her face. "I was trying to help you."

"Yeah, right," Pinky barked. "Leave him alone."

"Awww, look. The puppy protecting the platypus. If you were a real agent, Perry, your friends wouldn't be defending you."

"Back off, Kiki," Lydia growled. "I don't think you want me against you, but that's where you're headed."

That got Kiki's attention. "Fine, but remember what I said, Perry!" She flounced off.

"What a snob," Lydia muttered. "You okay, Perry?"

Perry, who had been quiet for a while, turned to his friends. "She's right. A real agent wouldn't allow help."

Lydia inwardly groaned and then glared at Kiki, who was a ways away now. "Don't listen to that fox. She's just trying to bully you."

Perry looked at his feet. "I guess you're right."

The kids stood still and silent for a little bit, then Lydia picked up a snowball and threw it at Pinky. "Snowball fight!"

Pinky shook the snow off, then smirked at Lydia. "Prepare to lose." He picked up a huge clump of snow and formed it into a ball. "Dodge this!"

Lydia sidestepped it with ease. "No problem." She picked up another snowball and threw it at Pinky.

Perry watched the two children play, a mixture of curiosity and amazement in his eyes. "Don't you get cold?"

Pinky shivered slightly, as if on cue. "Yeah, but who cares? It's so much fun!" He threw another snowball at Lydia.

Perry smiled, then turned around. Lydia couldn't tell what he was doing, and she was too focused on winning the fight to care that much. At least, until a snowball hit her in the shoulder. She looked over at Perry, who was smirking. "Oh, you're gonna get it now!" Lydia picked up a clump of snow and started chasing Perry, who was laughing.

Pinky looked on at the whole scene, laughing also. "That was a great shot for a first timer, Perry!" he called out.

Perry looked at Pinky and smiled, affirming he heard the comment. Lydia took his slight hesitation to the fight as a chance, and she dumped the snow on him. Perry fell down, laughing really hard. Lydia lay down next to him, smiling. Pinky, not wanting to be left out, lay down also. The three kids were quiet for a minute, then they made eye contact with each other. Pinky started snickering, causing Lydia and Perry to snicker also. Eventually, all three of them were in full blown laughter. They laid there, laughing, for probably about thirty minutes minimum.

Lydia managed to stop by pushing snow onto Perry, which startled him. "C'mon, let's make snowmen!"

Perry looked confused. "How do you make a human out of snow?"

Lydia stood up. "It's simple. Let me show you." She began building a snowman, listing the steps as she went. "First, you make a snowball. Then, you lay it on the ground, and roll it. More snow will get stuck to the ball. Eventually," she paused, struggling to roll the now huge ball of snow. "Eventually, you stop rolling it, and start another ball. But this time, it has to be smaller. Pinky, do you want to make the next ball?"

Pinky nodded. "Sure!" He began the second ball, following the same steps Lydia used. He tried picking the ball up, only to fall down. "A little help here?"

Lydia stepped forward. "Sure, Pinky." She lifted the second ball up with ease. "You put the second ball on the first ball once you've made it."

"But one smaller ball is still needed," Pinky barked up. "Perry, do you want to make that ball?"

Perry, who had been watching intently the whole time, nodded. He stood up, and began following the steps he learned. Once he had made the final ball, Lydia helped him set it gently on top of the first two balls. "Now we need to find some rocks and a big leaf," Lydia said, wiping the snow off her hands.

Pinky looked up at her, a confused expression on his face. "I thought you were supposed to use coal and a carrot."

Lydia shrugged, basically saying, big deal, or, who cares. "Well, they're kind of difficult to get hold of, right?"

Pinky dipped his head slightly in agreement. "Good point."

Perry spoke up again. "Guys, I found some leaves. Can you look through and see which one would be best?"

Lydia looked over at him in surprise. "When did you find those?"

"While you and Pinky were talking," Perry replied.

"Okay, Pinky, could you please find some rocks as Perry and I get the leaf on?"

The chihuahua nodded and ran off, leaving Perry and Lydia. "Perry, can I see the leaves you found?" Perry nodded and spread the leaves he found out on the ground. "We need a leaf that is big enough to see, but small enough that it won't fall off or break easily," Lydia explained to Perry.

"How's this?" Perry held up a broad, but not too broad medium sized brownish-reddish leaf.

Lydia got a close look at it. "Perfect!" she declared finally. "Could you give it to me so I can put it on?" The platypus nodded and handed it to her. "Thanks." Lydia carefully stuck the leaf on the top ball, pushing it in just slightly so it wouldn't fall off. Then, she looked around to make sure no one was watching. Using a new power she found out she had a few days before, Lydia froze the snow around the leaf into ice so she could be positive it wouldn't fall off.

Pinky came back with his paws full of rocks. "Okay, guys, these were all I could find."

Perry looked impressed. "That's 'all' you could find?" He really emphasized the all.

Pinky explained. "Well, you need a lot of them for when you build a snowman."

Perry looked up at Lydia. "Why do we need rocks and leaves?"

"To give our snowman a face," came the reply. "Can I have the rocks?" Pinky held out his paws, which were still full of pebbles. "Thank you." Lydia carefully placed the rocks on the head, pushing them in. "You need to place them in the shape is a face," Lydia explained to Perry.

Once they finished, the kids stepped back to admire their masterpiece. Perry gave a good, long look, as it was the first snowman he ever saw. "That doesn't look much like a human."

Lydia waved her hands around and shrugged, explaining. "Well, it would be really creepy if it actually looked like human, right?" Although I could shape it like that, she thought, thinking about her newfound power.

Just then, Kiki walked back up to them. "You call that a snowman?"

"Actually, that's one of my better ones," Lydia commented brightly, throwing Kiki into a small state of shock. Respond to their bullying with happiness, it always knocks them off guard, Lydia thought, smirking.

Kiki was about to respond with a stinging comment when the PA sounded. "Alright AITs, it's time to get to training."

"Nice job, you averted the wrath of Kiki," Pinky congratulated.

"Long enough for us to escape," Perry added, catching up to his friends.

"Congrats, Perry. You're finally starting to understand our language," Lydia said to the platypus.

Perry smiled, and then the three friends separated to their classes.

 **Ok, and chapter two (three if you include the four paragraphed prologue) is complete! For the beginning of the story, with the song and everything, that weirdness will be explained in later chapters. Wow, I just realized, I haven't been rambling on and on as much in this AN. VICTORY! :P :P :P**


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm finally posting again! Sorry, this chapter is really long. I just don't know when to stop the chapters :P I'm not that good at cliff-hangers in my opinion, so…yeah :P :P :P :I :l :l**

 **Disclaimer!**

 **I DO NOT OWN PHINEAS AND FERB, OR ONCE UPON A TIME AND MOST OF ITS MAGIC. ANY CHARACTER OR STORYLINE CHANGE OF EITHER ABOVE TV SHOW THAT YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE IS PROBABLY MINE**

The years passed, and the friendship between Pinky, Perry, and Lydia also grew. Training every day, the three kids became some of the best AITs in O.W.C.A. and best friends also. Lydia discovered new powers that she never knew she had. Spending time alone, the girl practiced her powers when no one was looking. Everything was peaceful for about three years, until one day.

An emergency alarm started blaring, but only on the agents' side of the building. That let all the AITs know it wasn't an evacuation emergency. However, Lydia and Perry became curious, and walked over to check it out. Pinky was too nervous about breaking the rules to follow.

"What's going on?" Lydia asked Francis, seeing him running around, giving orders.

Francis turned to the six year old. "It's Major Michael. He's dead."

"What?!" Lydia cried out.

Francis nodded sadly. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"That doesn't make any sense," Perry muttered, looking at the ground. "He was perfectly healthy, and still had a decade or two left in him."

Lydia picked up after her friend, catching on to his train of thought. "Which means he was murdered! That's why there's so much commotion, you're trying to figure out who killed him and how he died."

Francis nodded, obviously impressed with the two AITs. "That's correct. The only problem is, there's no wound. No sign he was physically injured."

"What about poison?" Perry inquired.

Francis shook his head. "Tests for that have already been done. Nothing toxic has entered his body for years."

"Could we help figure out what happened?" Lydia questioned, trying to walk forward. Francis blocked her.

"There's no need. Every agent at O.W.C.A. is helping figure it out."

"But what if they missed something that we could find?" Perry asked.

Francis scoffed. "Are you saying that two AITs that have only trained for about three years would be able to figure this out when the most experienced agents have failed?"

That quickly shut Perry up, but not Lydia. "That sure sounds like what we're saying," she shot back.

"Such fire at such a young age," Francis said.

"I spent three years of my life raising myself, with some help from animals. I grew up in a forest that humans were scared of entering because of legends. I think it makes sense why I'm this way."

Perry spoke up again, quietly. "If Major Michael is dead, doesn't that make you the new major?"

Francis smiled. "Yes, it does. But I won't become the official major until Major Michael's funeral has been held."

Lydia's eyes widened, and she suddenly felt suspicious of Francis. "Why are you smiling? A great man just died."

Francis immediately extinguished his smile. "Well, the fact I'm going to become major is the only good news from all of this."

"There's always a silver lining, isn't there?" Perry asked, shooting Lydia a look of confusion and suspicion.

Lydia glanced back at him, silently telling him not to say anything else. The she directed her attention back to Francis. "Well, if you think we're useless, then we'll just go to our dorm rooms." As they walked off, Lydia called back to Francis. "Good luck! You're gonna need it," she added softly. "I suddenly don't trust you."

After days of testing, Lydia found out that the agents still couldn't figure out how Major Michael died. Apparently they just quit and started planning the funeral. As the AITs were not invited to the funeral, all of them laid around, playing games and talking. Lydia laid in her bed, practicing her magic.

She waved her hand, and a sunroof appeared above her. She waved her hand again, and it disappeared in a cloud of purple magic. She swung her hand out, and ice shot onto the wall. Lydia swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up _. I'll try teleporting_ , she thought. _I need to work on that_.

She closed her eyes, inhaled slowly, and thought about where she wanted to visit. "The rec room?" she thought out loud. "No, that's where almost everyone will be today." Suddenly a picture came into her mind. The Tri-State Lake, with willow trees on the bank. She suddenly felt a rush of air, and opened her eyes. In front of her was a giant lake, and near her right were a few willows. The whole lake was surrounded by a forest.

"Lydia?" came a familiar voice from behind her. Lydia turned around and saw Perry staring at her.

Lydia rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Hey, Perry. What did you see?"

"You just randomly appeared there in a cloud of purple smoke."

 _Oh, shoot_ , she thought. "I guess there is something that I should tell you, but you've got to promise not to tell anyone."

"I promise." Perry even held his hand up, so Lydia knew he meant it. Also, he's not the kind of person...I mean animal...who breaks promises.

"Alright. This is something I've kept secret since we met. I have magic," Lydia admitted.

Perry looked at her in amazement. "Really? Cool! What magic did you just use?"

"A simple teleportation spell. At least, it's supposed to be simple. It's the magic I have the most trouble with. I was just practicing."

"Okay," Perry said, turning away.

Lydia was impressed. "Wow, you took that better than I expected." Perry didn't answer, he just continued staring in front of him. Lydia took a look at her surroundings. In front of her and Perry were some rocks that seemed to form furniture. There were three rocks together that formed the shape of a small couch. A few yards to the right there were some broken twigs and leaves. Behind that were a few more flat rocks, with leaves and ferns laid on top, and it was shaped like a queen sized bed.

"What is this place?" she wondered aloud. "Or an even better question, what are you doing here?"

Perry was silent for a minute, then he said, "You might as well know. You told me one of your secrets, I'll tell you one of mine."

Lydia waited for him to continue. "To answer your first question, this is the place I hatched." Lydia blinked in surprise. _That's not what I was expecting_ , she thought. "To answer your second question, I wanted to come, since there wasn't training today."

"Where are your parents, then?" Perry opened his mouth to continue, but Lydia didn't notice and interrupted him. "Oh, I bet they live somewhere else now, right?"

Perry sat down on his knees, and Lydia sat down next to him. She saw a couple tears rolling down his cheeks. "Are you okay?" she asked, suddenly feeling very concerned for her friend.

Perry sniffed and wiped away his tears, realizing that Lydia had seen him cry. He took a few deep breaths, then turned to his friend. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lydia gave him a look. "What's going on? You know, there's nothing wrong with crying."

"But agents don't cry."

"1. You're not an agent yet. 2. Only a fool believes that agents don't cry, that's basically saying they don't show emotion. Who told you that?"

"Kiki."

Lydia groaned. _Of course_ , she thought bitterly. "That fox is dead next time I see her," Lydia muttered through clenched teeth.

"Anyway, what made you cry?"

"Well, it's just painful whenever I think about it. About a week before I joined O.W.C.A., a bear attacked this place. My parents hid me, and fought the bear. They..." Perry paused, taking a couple more deep breaths, shuddering as he exhaled. "They were both killed by the bear that day, in front of my eyes."

Lydia gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. She gently laid her hand on Perry's shoulder. "I'm so sorry." When Perry didn't reply, she continued. "You know, I'm an orphan also."

Perry looked up at her. "Really?"

Lydia nodded. "It's a dark story. First, my mother ran off, leaving my father to raise me and my older brother. Then, my father turned evil and killed my mother. Only my mother is dead, but my father basically abandoned me."

Perry stared at her. "Wow, that is a dark story."

"Yeah," Lydia sighed, resting her chin on her hands. "My father became an evil sorcerer called the Dark One, and I inherited his magic."

"So you have dark magic?"

"Well, not all of it is dark magic, but it's basically a curse that I'm trying to make the most of."

"Okay," Perry said. Then the kids were silent. Lydia looked around her friend's old home from where she was sitting. Through the trees, she saw a small treehouse. Not sure what to say, Lydia just kept quiet about the treehouse.

Eventually she broke the silence. "Want to go back to O.W.C.A. headquarters?" When Perry didn't reply, Lydia tried again. "I could teleport both of us."

Perry looked over at her. "Is it safe?"

"Well, I have gotten a bit better at teleporting, and I've never teleported myself into the mouth of an animal or any other dangerous place."

Perry chuckled. "Okay."

Lydia smiled. "Alright then, take my hand." Once Perry grabbed her hand, she gave him a warning. "You might want to hold on tight." She felt his grip suddenly squeeze. Lydia pictured her dorm room, and suddenly the air felt warmer. Lydia opened her eyes, and saw the walls of her room.

Perry held his head in his hands, and stumbled onto the bed. Lydia looked over at him. "Are you okay?"

Perry, still clutching his forehead with one hand, nodded. "Yeah, I'm just a little dizzy."

"That makes sense. People, or animals, without any magic, don't have the body shape that's built for handling magic."

"Okay," Perry muttered. He stayed in that position for a few minutes, and Lydia stayed quiet. Eventually the platypus stood up. "I'm feeling better now," he said, walking towards the door. "I'm gonna see if I can find Pinky. You want to come?"

"Nah, I'm good. I wanna keep practicing my magic." Perry shrugged and walked out the door.

Both kids were true to their word. Perry hung out with Pinky until Francis returned, and Lydia practiced her magic until then. One of the things Lydia practiced was testing if her magic could keep her from becoming incredibly bored. That test failed. Lydia got just as bored as any normal kid.

When Francis returned with the agents, he called all the AITs together. Once they were rounded up, Francis made an announcement. "Tomorrow I will be your new major, and I expect you to treat me with the same amount of respect that you treated Major Michael with."

"Good luck with that," Lydia muttered.

"That's all, you're dismissed to your dorm rooms."

The next day, all the agents and AITs met up in the O.W.C.A. auditorium, which was only used for graduation ceremonies, and similar occasions. Lydia was probably the only one that didn't cheer when Francis became Major Monogram, as she still felt suspicious of him. As he became major, Lydia saw two people standing off to the side of the stage. One was a woman with short, brown, curly hair, and the other was a five year old boy with the woman's hair color and Francis' face shape. They must be his wife and son, Lydia thought.

Much to her surprise, not much at O.W.C.A. changed after Major Monogram became major. They trained like normal, and there was the agent graduation ceremony every two years. O.W.C.A. got a new intern, and life continued on like normal for six more years.

When Lydia was twelve, Pinky was ten, and Perry was nine, the next graduation ceremony was held. One of the rules to have a chance at becoming an agent is that you have to attend four of the graduation ceremonies as an AIT. This was Lydia's and her class' fifth time attending, and so they were all super excited, as they all had a chance to become agents.

They all entered the auditorium, chatting enthusiastically as they sat down in their seats. The large group of agents and AITs split up to their respective locations. There was a section of seats for the agents to sit at, and there was a section of seats for the AITs who had not attended four graduation ceremonies and thus did not have a chance to become agents. Then there was the section Lydia's class was sitting at. Their section had the seats for AITs that had a chance to become agents.

The lights dimmed in the audience, and Major Monogram walked on stage, holding a piece of paper in one hand, and a microphone in the other. "Hello, agents, AITs, welcome to the O.W.C.A. Graduation Ceremony. As you might know, when I name the AITs that graduate, their names will appear on screen one at a time, along with their picture and what division they will be part of. Alright, enough rambling, you're probably getting restless. First on the list: Kiki."

The fox's name and picture flashed on screen, and the backdrop was blue and had the picture of Major Monogram. "Come on up, Kiki. Welcome to my division."

Kiki passed Lydia, Pinky and Perry, shooting a smug smirk at the latter as she passed. The fox walked through the audience and onto stage, where she stood in the spot Major Monogram told her to. Lydia sat nervously as he continued calling other names that she barely recognized.

Eventually, she heard "Pinky." The chihuahua and his name flashed on the screen. The backdrop was pink and a woman appeared on screen. "Welcome to Wanda's division."

Pinky barked in excitement, nearly trampling Perry trying to get to the stage. "Congratulations," Perry called after his friend as he leaped towards the stage and up next to the other AITs that were about to become official agents.

"Only two left," Major Monogram warned. "Would Lydia please come up."

The pre-teen's image and name appeared on screen, and the backdrop was blue with Major Monogram's picture. "Welcome to my division."

It took all of Lydia's strength not to squeal with delight. Staying as calm as she could, Lydia walked onstage and stood next to the others. But she still had the butterflies of nervousness fluttering around in the pit of her stomach. It took her a minute to figure out why. _Perry_ , she realized. _His name hasn't been called yet, and there is only one name left._

Lydia didn't need to look very hard to tell that all the AITs were on the edge of their seats. The backdrop appeared on screen first, and everyone leaned forward more, now knowing that whoever graduated became part of Major Monogram's division. Then the name appeared the same time Major Monogram announced it. Only a few seconds later, although it felt like forever, as it seemed to go in slow motion, Perry's picture appeared on screen.

Lydia could see Perry's emotions very clearly. They went from shock, to happiness, to self-consciousness, to pure bliss, then as he walked up to the stage, self-consciousness took over again. He lined up next to his friends, and Major Monogram began the final step needed for them to become official agents. "You can't become agents without agent names," he said, giving each of them their official agent name. Each agent's name flashed on the screen so everyone could see.

Kiki's agent name was Agent F, as she was a fox. The major quickly and simply gave every new agent their agent name. "Agent Pinky," he said, finally arriving at the chihuahua.

Lydia, however, didn't want an agent name. "You can just continue to call me Lydia," she said firmly when Major Monogram arrived at her. He didn't have much choice, as he realized that her "can" was really a "will" in disguise. And Lydia is strong enough and willing enough to get what she wants, even if it's just by words.

He shrugged helplessly then turned to Perry, saluting. "Welcome to the agents, Agent P."

Perry immediately saluted in return, and Kiki rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Teacher's pet," Lydia heard the fox mutter to the brand new agent next to her.

Lydia glared daggers at the fox, and since Agent F didn't see, Lydia waved her hand and smirked. While the new agents were walking off stage, Kiki's legs got caught in her tail, and she tripped. _Score!_ Lydia thought. Perry, on the other hand, ran over to help Kiki up.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

Lydia smiled proudly at her friend _. Even though she's bullied him for nine years, he still treats her well,_ she thought. _That's something I'll never be able to do._

Kiki, however, didn't seem so grateful. "I'm fine," she snapped, standing up by herself.

 _Show some respect, 'Agent F,'_ Lydia thought bitterly.

Perry shrunk back next to Lydia. "O...kay," he said meekly.

Lydia got on one knee so she could be at Perry's eye level. "I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Don't let her get to you, she's just a full of herself jerk who's probably just jealous of you."

Once they were offstage and the audience began leaving the auditorium, Major Monogram gathered the new agents together. "As you learned in your training, you still need a host family. The host family that adopts you determines who your nemesis will be. Well, that and your skill level. So if you'll follow me, I can show you the pipes that lead to the OWCA Pet Store." He turned to Lydia and cleared his throat. "You're our first human agent, and you're too young to live by yourself, which is why you'll be at an orphanage until someone adopts you."

"What?!" Lydia cried.

"I'm sorry, but that's the rule."

Perry glanced up at her, and she looked back. His eyes said "I'm sorry."

Major Monogram led the new animal agents and Lydia to the tubes that would take them to the pet store. Before he left, Perry turned to Lydia. "On the bright side, you have magic, and you're a trained agent, so you'll survive."

Lydia nodded in agreement. "I'll survive. Have fun, I hope I'll see you again."

Perry hugged her, then stepped under the tube. It lifted him up and carried him off to wherever the OWCA Pet Store was.

Lydia watched him leave, smiling. Then she dragged herself around to face Major Monogram, letting out a heavy sigh. "Alright, time for the orphanage."

"Come with me," Major Monogram said firmly.

Lydia followed her major to the Danville Orphanage: The Home for Children In Need Of Families. Major Monogram led her in and signed her up, then pulled her over to the side before he left. "This isn't O.W.C.A. property, so they don't know you're an agent. There is no way to get in touch with each other, got it?"

Lydia nodded, and Major Monogram sighed. "Well then, good luck." He saluted, then walked off. Lydia saluted back, then sighed.

The woman at the front desk that signed her up began speaking to her. "Hello, Lydia. My name is Miss Arable, but you can call me Sapphire. Let me take you to your room."

Lydia followed the redhead upstairs and to her new, temporary bedroom. She was surprised when it was actually quite like a normal bedroom at a normal house, and less like a prison cell like Lydia expected. _Too many movies_ , Lydia thought, feeling amused and slightly embarrassed.

After a couple weeks, Lydia had become friends with quite a few other people at the orphanage. She didn't think any of them were long lasting friendships, and it probably wasn't a good idea to form the long lasting bonds anyway, as one of them could be adopted anytime.

A couple years later, the now 14 year old Lydia stood in front of her mirror _. I look so different_ , she thought, feeling kind of sad. _I wish I still looked the way I did two years ago_. Lydia began picturing how she used to look, closing her eyes to make the picture more vivid.

When she opened her eyes again, the teen saw exactly what she had been imagining. _Wow, I imagined it too well_ , she thought. She scratched her neck, and saw that what she was doing was still mirrored. "Hmm, I wonder," Lydia thought out loud, an idea popping into her head.

She vividly imagined herself at eight years old. When she opened her eyes, she saw a young girl with a curly bob of hair and glasses that were too big for her staring back at her. Lydia reached up and took her glasses off, the girl mirroring her every move. Lydia blinked in surprise when she could see reasonably well without her glasses.

 _One more test_ , she thought. Reaching far back into her memory, Lydia imagined how she looked as a 3 year old. When she opened her eyes, she was tiny, and a little girl was staring at her. _Sweet_ , Lydia thought. _I can change how I look on the outside without changing my real age or maturity._

Lydia turned herself back into the 12 year old her and walked downstairs.

One day, a year later, Lydia's friend Misty ran up to her room. "Lydia!" she gasped, out of breath from running. "Another family's here!"

Lydia, who had been laying on her bed, immediately sat up. "Awesome! I guess Sapphire sent you to get me?"

Misty nodded, and Lydia walked out of her room and down the stairs, Misty not far behind. The two girls got in line with the rest of the girls just as the family entered.

The family looked interesting. The mother had a pencil thin waist, reddish orange hair, and was wearing a yellow and white shirt, and Capri pants. The father had brown hair, a rectangle shaped head, and was wearing a white t-shirt with brown pants. The older girl, who looked about 14, had a long neck, the same hair color as her mother, and was wearing a dress that was red and white. Then there were two boys that looked about nine. The first had a triangle shaped head, slightly redder hair than his mother and sister, and was wearing an orange and white striped t-shirt with blue cargo shorts. His brother had the same shape head as his father, green hair, and was wearing a white t-shirt with purple overalls.

Sapphire walked up to them. "Hello, I am Miss Arable."

"I'm Lawrence Flynn-Fletcher, this is my wife Linda, and our three kids. Candace, Phineas, and Ferb," the father introduced in a British accent.

"Would you like to adopt a girl or a boy?" Miss Arable asked.

"I want a sister," the girl who was called Candace said.

Some of the boys sighed in disappointment, then went back to their rooms.

"Is there a certain age group you'd like?" Miss Arable asked.

"Yes, somewhere between 11 and 16," Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher replied.

The older girls outside the age limit gently helped the younger girls back to their rooms.

Lydia inhaled deeply. _I'm still left_ , she thought happily.

Phineas and Ferb walked up to Lydia. "Hi, there. I'm Phineas, what's your name?"

"Nice to meet you, Phineas. I'm Lydia."

"What's it like to not have any parents?" Phineas asked.

Lydia inhaled sharply. Although it had been 15 years since it had happened, she still remembered it like it was yesterday.

 _Lydia, just an infant, laid in her crib. "Where are you going, Mommy?" she gurgled._

 _Her 'mommy' must not have heard, because she got something brown and pulled it over her head. She walked over to Lydia and whispered, "Good luck, my darling girl. Be a big help to your older brother and father, and grow up to be great and wonderful."_

Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher's voice awoke Lydia out of her memories. "Phineas, we don't ask that."

"Oh, sorry," Phineas apologized to Lydia.

"It's fine, Phineas."

"Have you folks decided who you'd like to adopt?" Sapphire Arable asked.

"I think we have. Linda, what do you think?"

"I believe we have, Lawrence."

"All right, then. Can you please follow me into my office, so we can talk it over?" asked Miss Arable.

Mr. and Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher followed Sapphire into her office and shut the door. No one talked, everyone was tense, waiting for the official papers to be written and signed, and for the announcement of who was leaving to come.

After a few minutes, Sapphire came out again, followed by Mrs. and Mr. Flynn-Fletcher. "Welcome to the Flynn-Fletcher family..." Sapphire paused for dramatic effect. "Lydia!" she finally announced.

Lydia blinked, feeling her emotions change quickly. _Now I know how Perry felt when he became an agent three years ago_ , she thought, somewhat amused.

"Yay!" Phineas yelled. "You're my new big sister!"

"Hey, don't forget about me," Candace protested.

"I said 'new big sister.'"

"Fine," Candace muttered.

"Alright, let's go," Mr. Flynn-Fletcher-oh, wait- Lawrence, said.

Once they were in the red van, Lydia squeezed in between Phineas and Candace, Phineas started talking. "I bet you're gonna love your new home. We have a pet, but he disappears every day. Ferb and I also have some friends I bet you're gonna love. Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford, although I'm not sure how much Buford realizes he's a close friend to us. It'll be so nice to have a sister that's only three years older than us, won't it, Ferb?" Phineas paused for breath.

Ferb nodded, and it took Lydia a second to remember. _Oh, yeah! They think that I'm 12 years old_.

Phineas started up talking again, and continued until they pulled up into the driveway. Lydia smiled. That kid was going to go places.

 **Yes, yes he was :P so, about the whole, 'Lydia changing how she looks on outside but nothing else about her changing' thing, it's not really a shapeshift. It's more of a power that she can only rewind or fast forward herself with. Remember, Lydia is really a whole year older than Candace, but she is thought of as twelve for most of this fanfic. More things will be explained next chapter, and also, big thumbs up and huge smiley-faces to anyone who enjoys and continues reading my stories no matter how weird they get :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D**


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm back! Didja miss me? Or the story? Or both?**

 **DISCLAIMER**

 **I DO NOT OWN PHINEAS AND FERB OR ONCE UPON A TIME. ANY CHARACTER THAT DOES NOT SEEM FAMILIAR IS PROBABLY MINE**

Lydia followed Phineas and Ferb up to the front door. Linda walked up and opened the door, and Phineas and Ferb ran in, dragging Lydia behind them. "Come on, we're going to show you your new room!"

Lydia laughed and followed them upstairs. When she entered the room, she was surprised at how big it was.

"This is mine and Ferb's room, and now it's yours, too." Phineas pointed at a bed by the doorway. "That's your bed."

Once the step-brothers had finished giving Lydia the tour, they entered the kitchen. "And now you can meet our pet- hey! Where'd he go?"

"Where did who go?" Linda, who was making dinner in the kitchen, asked.

"Perry," Phineas replied. "He was-" The rest of his sentence was muted after Lydia heard 'Perry.'

 _Is my childhood friend the Flynn-Fletcher's pet?_ she thought. _Huh, what a coincidence._

Candace's voice brought Lydia back to the conversation. "Phineas, you know that Perry disappears nearly every day, and he always comes back."

"Yeah, but I'm still worried about him," Phineas replied.

"Does he come back?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah, he comes back every day," Phineas answered.

"Well then, I can just meet him when he's back, right?"

Phineas sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

Lydia felt bad. "Can you tell me more about your friends?" she asked in an attempt to help him feel better.

Phineas' face brightened. "Well, we've been close friends with Isabella for years. She lives in that house just across the street. Baljeet and his mom just moved to this neighborhood from India a couple years ago..." he continued until it was time for dinner.

Lydia saw Linda and Lawrence staring at her, then glance a knowing look at each other most of dinner. She didn't really understand why.

(...)

"I'm going to bed," Candace said, standing up. They had just finished dinner, and Candace was headed for the stairs.

"Actually, Candace," Lawrence replied. "We're going to meet in the living room."

Lydia pushed her chair away from the table and followed the rest of her new family to the living room. Lawrence held her back. "Not you, Lydia."

Linda walked over. "You can go on to bed."

Lydia walked over to the stairs and up them. Once at the top and out of sight, Lydia concentrated. Using her magic, Lydia turned herself invisible.

She silently walked back down the stairs and sat down, watching her new family talk.

"What is it?" Phineas asked.

"Lydia has some...special talents that Miss Arable warned us about when we were in the office," Linda said hesitantly.

Lydia's ears perked up. _Did Sapphire tell them?_

Candace looked suddenly interested also. "What kind of talents?"

"Magic," Linda replied. "Lydia used her magic to change how she looks. She's not actually a pre-teen."

"But Sapphire isn't sure what age Lydia really is," Lawrence continued.

"Does she have any other types of magic?" Candace asked curiously.

"Yes, but we're not sure what they are."

"Kids, don't tell Lydia we know. Don't subtly let her know that we're aware, either," Lawrence added.

"For how long?" Phineas and Candace chorused, while Ferb blinked.

"Until she feels comfortable with us knowing and tells us herself," Linda answered. "Now go on and get to bed."

Lydia used her super-speed and zoomed up the stairs and into bed. Phineas and Ferb didn't enter the room for a few more minutes. Lydia was lying down, facing the wall when they entered. "I'm fifteen."

"What?" Phineas inquired.

"I heard you talking downstairs. You all know I have magic. I'm actually fifteen years old."

"Woah, you're actually six years older than us? Cool!"

"Candace won't be happy when she finds out that she's not the oldest anymore." Ferb shared his father's accent.

"Guys," Lydia said, sitting up. "I don't want you to think of me as fifteen, I want you to think of me as twelve. Or whatever age I look like," Lydia added. "I might not always keep myself looking this way." She paused, then added, "And don't tell Lawrence, Linda, or Candace, at least not for now. 'Kay?"

"Sure, no problem," Phineas replied, hopping into bed.

Lydia smiled and closed her eyes, turning back to face the wall. "Night."

The last thing Lydia heard before blacking out was "Oh, there you are, Perry."

 **(...)**

 _A familiar female voice. "I let my misery cloud my judgment."_

 _Lydia was standing on a pirate ship. A man in black leather was watching two people, one male with dark, scaly skin, and one female with messy, brown, long curls, from a distance._

 _"Why were you so miserable?" the male with the scaly skin seethed._

 _The woman leaned closer. "Because I never loved you," she sneered._

 _Everything was silent for a moment, and then the scaly skinned man, still seething, reached into the female's chest. At the same time, the man in black leather leapt forward. "Enough!"_

 _The scaly skinned male waved his free hand, and the other man was pushed back against one of the ship's poles, and the ropes magically wrapped around him._

 _The male with the strange skin pulled something bright red and beating out of the female's chest. It was her heart._

 _"No!" the man trapped by the ropes cried. He attempted to escape using a nearby hook, and it worked. He ran toward the woman and held her as she began to slowly collapse._

 _Lydia could barely make out the woman's words, but they were still audible. "I love you," she murmured to the man in leather. That sentence made something inside Lydia burn with...anger?_

 _The man holding her heart scowled and began squeezing it. He crumbled it into dust that was blown away by the sea breeze._

 _The man in leather, grieving, turned to the other male. "You may be more powerful now, Demon, but you're no less a coward!"_

 _"I'll have what I came for now," the scaly man said._

 _The man in leather, who Lydia noticed was clutching something, stood up. "You'll have to kill me first!"_

 _The man with the scales replied tauntingly. "Ah-ah! I'm afraid that's not in the cards for you, Sonny Boy." He pulled out a sword and unexpectedly cut off the other man's left hand, the one holding something._

 _The man in leather collapsed on the ground, screaming in pain, and the scaled man picked up the hand. "I want you alive," he growled. "Because I want you to suffer like I did."_

 _Then came the giggle that was hauntingly familiar to Lydia. All of the scenery around her vanished, leaving nothing but black and the scaled man. He vanished for a moment and his voice echoed all around. "I can see that you're truly 'in love.'"_

 _"You left him! You left him!"_

 _"Another day gone. There'll be no fleeing now."_

 _"What choice do I have?"_

 _"The only choice I have is which corner of the room to hide in."_

 _"And now you shall know me as the new Dark One."_

 _"I protected what belongs to me, and I'm not scared of anything."_

 _His scaly face reappeared. He smiled a wicked smile; broken, yellow teeth in his mouth, and let out a small, yet evil, laugh. Lydia felt her heart pounding from fear._

 _One more scene played in front of Lydia. The scaled man walked into a small, broken-down cottage. He headed toward a crib and gently picked up an infant girl, cradling her in his arms._

 _"I will never lose you, Lydia," he promised, gently rocking her. "My darling daughter."_

Lydia sat up, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding so loud she was worried it would wake everyone up.

 _I'm scared of my own father_. She scoffed. _How pathetic is that?_

But the dream had scared Lydia too much.She wasn't able to fall back asleep, so she laid in bed until the sun rose. As the room got lighter, she could make out someone smaller lying in bed with Phineas.

She grinned. _I was right._ Lydia quietly tiptoed to Phineas's bed and suddenly grabbed the platypus on the bed. That woke Perry up.

Lydia smiled mischievously. "Hi, Perry. Long time no see, right?"

He had a look on his face the consisted of shock, confusion, and early morning grogginess. Lydia attempted the teleportation, and transported them to the backyard.

Perry waited till they were sure no one was awake to respond. "Lydia?" he asked incredulously.

The teen grinned. "Nice to see you too."

He shook his head disbelievingly. "I know they went to the orphanage to adopt someone; what are they chances they adopted you?" Perry returned the grin.

Lydia laughed. "I've gotten used to it. When did the Flynn-Fletchers adopt you?"

"Only about a week after I was made an agent."

"Lucky," Lydia sighed. Her stomach growled. "Phineas and Ferb will be awake soon; you want to eat?"

 **I feel like this chapter was short. Well, I promised a spree after my hiatus, and so I wanted to be nice and shorten it so you could read it :P :P**


	6. Chapter 5

**I know, ANOTHER short chapter; I figured it was a good stopping spot. Anyway, this chapter, LYDIA MEETS DOOF**

 **I DO NOT OWN PNF. ANY CHARACTER THAT YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE IS PROBABLY MINE**

Lydia's FIRST full day in the Flynn-Fletchers, she was called in. Perry smiled sympathetically at her. "Don't worry, it was the same with me."

"Where do I go?" Lydia asked her friend.

"Come on," Perry said. "I'm getting called in too, so you can just come down to my lair with me."

He walked to the basement stairs, Lydia following, and tapped something. One of the wooden planks on the stairs opened up, revealing a tunnel. "Ladies first," Perry grinned.

Lydia laughed. "Oh, please. I'm anything but that." However, she still jumped into the tunnel.

Lydia was surprised at how big the tube was. "I was expecting a tighter squeeze."

Perry smiled. "Some of them are, some aren't. I wouldn't recommend using any of the entrances on the wall of the house."

Lydia laughed, and fell next to a red chair. Perry, however, plopped in the chair. "Of course."

Major Monogram was on a screen when they arrived. "Ah, Agent P!" He then spotted Lydia. "Lydia, since you and Agent P live with the same host family, you will have the same nemesis."

The major turned back to Perry. "The evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz is up to his old tricks. For reasons unknown to us, he has checked out books from the library on machine engines, the human body, and building architecture. We need you both to see what he's up to, and put a stop to it, if necessary."

Perry saluted, hopped off his chair, and ran to a rocketcar parked in the lair. He sat down and patted the seat next to him. "Hop on."

Lydia grinned and teleported next to him. "You've gotten better at the teleporting," Perry commented.

"Come on, agent, we've got a mission!"

Perry smiled and the car took off. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

Lydia shrugged. "Oh, I don't know... Just reunited with my childhood friend, I'm out of the orphanage, going on my first mission as an agent..." She glanced at her friend. "What do you think?"

"You haven't changed much," Perry noted, grinning.

Lydia swatted him on the shoulder. "Look who's talking."

They both laughed. Suddenly, a strange, purple building- shaped a bit like Ferb's head, Lydia noticed- came into view.

"Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc!" some male voices sang.

"Ah... Our nemesis's building has its own jingle." Lydia sighed. "It's gonna be a long day."

Perry smiled and parked the car on the road. _What?_ "We just gonna walk in?"

"Why not?" Perry shrugged.

"Please tell me the guy we're fighting is on one of the first floors."

Perry shook his head. "But there are elevators."

 **(...)**

Both elevators were out of order. Perry sighed and looked over at the stairs.

Lydia thought for a moment. "How high up is he?"

"Top floor."

Lydia closed her eyes. "Can you describe it to me?"

"Umm, let's see if I can word it. It's purple, green, and gray, and there's a bunch of machinery lying around."

"Okay, take my hand." Lydia felt Perry's paw and focused...and teleported. As soon as they reappeared, a cage fell.

"Are we in the right place?" Lydia asked, feeling confused.

"Ah, Perry the platypus. And...who are you?" A man with a hunched back, wearing a labcoat entered the room, speaking in a German accent; a truly baffled expression on his face.

"We're in the right place," Perry sighed.

"You must be Dr. Doof, right?" Lydia inquired the hunchback.

"That's what they call me," Dr. Doofenshmirtz replied.

Lydia studied him. "I suppose you LOOK like a stereotypical villain; do you act like it?"

"Of course!" the scientist replied defensively. "Wouldn't they make this?"

He pulled back a black curtain to reveal a big machine behind it. "Behold! The Inside-Out-Inator!"

Dr. Doofenshmirtz laughed maniacally and turned back to face the agents, rubbing his hands together. "This shoots a beam that can turn ANYTHING inside-out!"

"Really?" Lydia asked sarcastically. "That's not at all what I figured it would do, you know, based on the name."

"Alright, Miss Smarty-Pants," the scientist muttered. "You know, I think I understand why O.W.C.A. uses animals for agents. The part I was HOPING you would catch is that it can turn anything inside-out."

"What about a plant?"

"Can do." Dr. Doofenshmirtz held out a dandelion that looked extremely messed up. As the scientist looked at it, his hands lowered. "Yeah...I shouldn't have tested it out on such a tiny thing."

"What about a machine?"

Dr. Doofenshmirtz handed her a picture. "I regret testing it on my car."

Lydia glanced at the picture, and looked back at Doofenshmirtz, handing the picture back. "That's sad. What about a building?"

"Could you just let me explain my plan?"

"I have the feeling you're about to."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz just ignored her. "Using the Inside-Out-Inator, I can shoot City Hall, and everything- and everyone- inside of it will be brought to the outside! Then, I'll just wait for them to beg for me to fix it; I will, but not until I get handed the mayorship! Then I will rule the entire Tri-State Area!"

"That is just so sad," Lydia muttered to Perry. She turned back to Doof. "You know what I said earlier about the whole 'stereotypical villain' thing? You're not one."

Perry glanced at her. "Shouldn't we be working on getting out?" he whispered.

Lydia smirked and sent him a telepathic message. _I am._

While she had been talking, Lydia had been messing with the metal bars behind her. She had created a small ball of fire- a trick she had learned the year before- and shot it at the bars to soften them. Then, all Lydia had to do was mess around with them until they fell apart.

Lydia motioned at the hole behind her, and Perry grinned. "Oh."

Apparently, Dr. Doofenshmirtz was still complaining about the 'stereotypical villain' debacle. "I pour my heart and soul into evil, then you come along, and I'm not evil anymore? No, I'm not gonna take that. You- you know what? I'm gonna make a Show-How-Evil-Inator so you can see that I am evil... Are- are you even listening to me?"

Lydia immediately directed her attention back to the scientist. "Mm-hmm," she nodded.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz smiled. "Good. Now, then, about the scheme, what do you think of it?"

Lydia sighed. _You've got to answer him, or the plan won't work,_ she reminded herself. Lydia began talking, making sure to cover up the hole from the scientist's view. Perry quietly crawled behind her and out of the gap in the cage.

As Lydia and Dr. Doofenshmirtz argued, Perry crawled up the inator, giving Lydia a thumbs-up when he was at the top. Lydia grinned and backed up against the cage's hole. "The one major flaw with your plan," Lydia told the hunchback, "is that you are facing Perry and me."

She crawled out the hole. "And Perry and I make a great team."

A look of horror- _kind of hilarious, actually_ \- spread across Dr. Doofenshmirtz's face. He turned around. Perry waved at him. "No!"

The scientist tried to climb up to the top of the inator to reach Perry, who tossed Lydia the remote to the machine. She studied the remote as Perry and Dr. Doofenshmirtz fought. "You put a self-destruct button on your machine?" she yelled at the hunchback over the noise of the battle.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Dr. Doofenshmirtz yelled back. "Oof!" Perry had kicked the scientist off the inator and against the wall.

Lydia winced. "That's gonna leave a mark," she muttered. "Perry, you might want to get off the machine."

The platypus got the message and leaped off the Inside-Out-Inator. Lydia pressed the self-destruct button.

Just before the inator blew up, it shot a beam. A beam that hit the evil scientist who had just stood up from his point next to the wall.

Lydia shuddered as she looked at the scientist. "I could've lived my whole life without seeing that."

All the blood vessels, all the internal organs, everything, was now on the outside of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's body. The hunchback took a look at himself. He groaned. "Oh, great. Now I have to make an Outside-In-Inator." Dr. Doofenshmirtz walked off. "Curse you, Perry the platypus. And you too, human agent...that I never found out the name for."

"Well," Lydia sighed once they were back in the rocketcar, "that was easier than I expected."

 **I didn't even need to think about what Doof should make; Disney already did!**

 **Episode Three of Season Three: Phineas's Birthday Clip-O-Rama.**


	7. Chapter 6

**This chapter is MUCH longer than I had planned... Maybe because at first I was planning on adding the ending into the next chapter... But I like it here ;P ;P**

 **I DO NOT OWN PHINEAS AND FERB OR ONCE UPON A TIME. OR OUAT'S EPISODES "The Heart of the Thing You Love Most," FROM SEASON ONE, EPISODE TWO, "Save Henry," FROM SEASON THREE, EPISODE NINE, OR "Shattered Sight," FROM SEASON FOUR, EPISODE ELEVEN**

"Where were you?" Phineas asked when Lydia and Perry got back.

"I was just walking around Danville," Lydia automatically replied.

"Oh... Well, I wanted you to meet my friends," Phineas said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Phineas," Lydia apologized. "I'll meet them tomorrow."

The nine year-old redhead's face brightened. "Really?"

"Really," Lydia confirmed.

 **(...)**

Luckily, Lydia wasn't called in the next day.

As Phineas and Ferb built a tree themed amusement park, a girl with raven-black hair stepped through the gate. "Whatcha doin?"

 _That must be Isabella._ Lydia walked over to her. "Hi, I'm Lydia."

Isabella shook her hand. "Phineas and Ferb's new sister? Cool! I'm Isabella."

 _Thought so_.

Phineas spotted Isabella and waved. "Hi, Isabella!"

"So, are Buford and Baljeet coming over today?" Lydia asked. "I'd like to meet them."

"Baljeet should be coming; Buford doesn't normally come over," Phineas sighed. "I wish he would."

"Phineas! Ferb! What on earth are you doing?" a familiar voice called. Lydia turned and saw Candace glaring down.

"We're just building a tree-themed amusement park," Phineas replied.

"Going green," Ferb commented.

"You want to come help us?"

Candace laughed and shook her head. "Oh, no, not on your life! I'm going to get Mom!"

"Great idea!" Phineas called. "She'll love to see this!"

 **(...)**

Linda didn't see it. _And with her calm reaction_ , Lydia noted, _it must be routine._

"Who wants pie?" Linda asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Me!" Phineas, Isabella, and Baljeet called, running in after her. Ferb calmly walked behind the group.

Lydia was about to follow, when she saw Candace standing in the backyard. "But, but, but, but, but, but... How?"

Lydia gently led Candace into the house. "We deal with strange things. Maybe Linda will see what they make tomorrow."

Candace's face brightened. "Okay!"

 **(...)**

Lawrence got home from his antique shop a bit later. Lydia watched from the window as he hugged Phineas and rubbed Ferb's head. Lydia sighed. _I wish my dad was like that._

But it was useless thinking that. Her father was an evil, power-obsessed coward, and that was that.

Still... Thinking about him gave Lydia a pang of guilt. _I was all he had left._ Of course she had no control over her magic when she was an infant, so she shouldn't be guilty. Yet, she was.

 _Maybe I should visit. Just, check in on him. He won't recognize me anyway._

Lydia thought back and forth on the subject before making her final decision. _I'm gonna do it._

She told everyone at dinner, explaining why, too. "So... Your parents are still alive?" Candace asked.

Lydia nodded. "Well, my dad, anyway."

"Oh."

"And I know you know I have magic," said Lydia, turning to her adopted parents. "And that's how I'm gonna visit my dad."

"How are you?" Phineas inquired curiously.

"I was born in another universe. That's where my dad lives. The only way to travel from one universe to another is with the right kind of magic. Which I have."

"When will you be leaving?" Linda asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Lydia turned to Perry, who she knew was listening. She sent him a telepathic message. _Tell Major Monogram._

Perry gave a small, barely noticeable, nod.

 **(...)**

The next morning came quickly. Linda stared at Lydia in surprise. "Where's your stuff?"

Lydia shrugged. "Why would I need to pack?"

Linda sighed and hugged her. "I know you haven't been part our family very long, but I already think of you as my daughter. Stay safe."

Lawrence smiled and shook Lydia's hand. "I don't quite, but I do want you to stay safe too."

The couple walked back in the house. Phineas, Ferb, and Candace all hugged Lydia, nearly, physically, choking her. "I'll miss you, but I'll be coming back again. This isn't the last time I'll see you."

"Bye," Phineas and Candace said, walking back in the house to eat breakfast. Ferb blinked and followed.

Once they were all inside, Perry stood up on two feet and hugged Lydia. "I'd say 'stay safe' too, but I know you can handle yourself."

Lydia grinned, and Perry looked up at her. "So, I'll be seeing you again?"

Lydia bent down to Perry's eye level. "You are correct. Which means this isn't 'bye,' it's 'see you soon.'"

Perry smiled and Lydia stood back up. "Alright, then, see you soon."

Lydia grinned, closed her eyes, focused her magic, and suddenly felt a whoosh and a rush of air. In front of her was a portal. Through the portal she could see a forest she hadn't seen in twelve years. The Enchanted Forest.

She turned, waved to Perry, and stepped through the portal. It closed with a whoosh.

 **(..)**

The first place Lydia teleported to was the last place she had seen her father. The village she was born in. It was empty.

Lydia ran to her old cottage. "Da-Rumplestiltsken?" she called nervously, opening the door. "Baelfire?" _Well, it was worth a try._

No one was home. Lydia held her hand over the wall, closing her eyes. _Everything has memories._

The house showed her that her father had created a castle and moved into that.

Lydia teleported herself there. It was huge, red, black, and purple. And empty. _Where is everyone?_

Lydia sighed and left her father's castle, beginning to trudge through the woods, looking for something that could help her.

After a few hours she spotted a big white and gold castle. "That looks promising!"

She teleported herself to the castle. No one was there. _What on earth happened?_

Lydia took the castle's memories.

 _She was in a small, dirt room. An all-too familiar, scaly face was grinning in a prison cell, and there was a mouse crawling on the floor._

 _"It's just us, dearie," the scaled man called with a sing-song tone. "You can show yourself."_

 _The mouse transformed into a woman with a black dress and black hair tied up in a ponytail. "That curse you gave me... It's not working."_

 _"Oh," Rumplestiltsken gasped, "So worried. So, so worried. Like Snow and her lovely, new husband."_

 _"What?"_

 _Rumplestiltsken leaped towards the front of his cell. "They paid me a visit as well. They were very anxious...about you...and the curse."_

 _The woman walked up to the bars. "What'd you tell them?"_

 _"The truth," Rumplestiltsken said loudly. "That nothing can stop the darkness...except, of course, their unborn child," he added. "You see, no matter how powerful, all curses can be broken." He paused. "Their child is the key. Of course, the curse has to be enacted first."_

 _"Tell me what I did wrong."_

 _"For that," Rumplestiltsken grinned, "there's a price."_

 _The woman with the black hair paused. "What do you want?"_

 _Rumplestiltsken's smile had apparently vanished, because he frowned at her. "Simple. In this new land, I want comfort. I want a good life."_

 _"Fine," the woman sighed. "You'll have an estate, be rich."_

 _"I wasn't finished," Rumplestiltsken said in an annoyed tone. "There's more."_

 _"There always is with you."_

 _Lydia's father laughed. "Yeah. In this new land, should I ever come to you for any reason, you must heed my every request." He rose to his full height and stared down at the woman. "You must do whatever I say. So long as I say...please." His face grew into a freakishly huge grin, and he laughed, mocking a surprised tone._

 _"You do realize that should I succeed," the woman said slowly, "you won't remember ANY of this?"_

 _"Oh, well, then. What's the harm?"_

 _The woman grinned evilly. "Deal. What must I do to enact this curse?"_

 _"You need to sacrifice a heart."_

 _The woman in the black dress stared at Rumplestiltsken steadily. "I sacrificed my prized steed."_

 _Rumplestiltsken startled Lydia by practically leaping out of the cage and grabbing the woman's face. "A horse?" he growled. "This is the curse to end all curses. You think a horse is gonna do? Great power requires great sacrifice. The heart you need must come from something FAR more precious."_

 _"Tell me what will suffice," the woman said calmly._

 _"The heart of the thing you love most."_

"Figures," Lydia sighed, taking her hand off the wall. "It was Dad's idea to use 'the curse.' But where are they now?"

She checked and sighed again. "'A land without magic.' It's obviously not the same world as the one I left. It's connected to this universe."

Lydia closed her eyes, feeling through the universe. She was still sloppy at it-she just realized she could do it a few days before- but not horrible. Eventually, Lydia found that universe's Earth.

 _"And this town you live in," a man with dark skin said, "Storybrooke. You're the mayor?"_

 _A woman with short, glossy black hair and a long-sleeved sky blue shirt replied, nodding. "Third term. All unopposed."_

 _The dark man in a suit took his glasses off. "Never heard of Storybrooke."_

 _The black-haired woman inhaled. "Oh, it's a...hidden gem. Peaceful, perfect for children," she added. "It's like a fairy-tale. You should come visit sometime," the woman laughed._

 _"I get two weeks off a year, and, all due respect, Sandals has an inclusive buffet," the man grinned. "You got that in Storybrooke?"_

 _"I'm afraid not."_

 _The man chuckled. "Anyway-"_

That was all Lydia needed to hear. She backed out, thinking.

"Storybrooke. That's where the curse took them," Lydia murmured. "That took place in Boston. Boston, Massachusetts. But..." she mentally zoomed through Massachusetts. "There's no Storybrooke in Massachusetts." Lydia began checking the nearby states.

"'A hidden gem,'" she murmured. "Not noticeable, never seen. Always...unknown."

The state of Maine was Lydia's jackpot. "Found it!"

 _Time to act on that knowledge._ Lydia exhaled, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

When she opened her eyes again, Lydia was standing by a street. It was nighttime.

"Emma!" a female voice suddenly yelled, breaking the silence. Lydia turned to look, and a young, blonde girl wearing a white hat ran towards Lydia.

She stopped, gasping for breath. "You alright?" Lydia asked.

The girl nodded. "I'm-"

"Emma!" the voice called again.

"-Emma," the blonde girl finished. "Emma Swan."

Lydia grinned. "Nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Lydia." The two girls shook hands.

 **Well, this is quite a stop, isn't it? I'm so happy! I FINALLY broke through the introductory chapters wall!**


	8. Chapter 7

**:O :O I'm actually updating! Well, I have my reasons.**

 **I AM GOING ON A ROAD TRIP, SO I MAY NOT UPDATE QUICKLY. IF I DON'T UPDATE VERY MUCH DURING THIS NEXT MONTH, THEN I WILL HAVE A SPREE WHEN I GET BACK. IF I DO UPDATE AT A REASONABLY NORMAL SPEED, THEN I WILL NOT HAVE A SPREE**

 **But I won't be able to work on this story much while I'm gone because to get direct quotes and scenes from episodes I need Netflix or YouTube. And I won't really have very good access to those while I'm gone : ( : (**

 **I DO NOT OWN ONCE UPON A TIME OR ITS EPISODES "Shattered Sight," FROM SEASON FOUR, EPISODE ELEVEN, OR "Pilot," FROM SEASON ONE, EPISODE ONE.**

"Emma!" the female voice called again.

"It sounds like someone wants to see you," Lydia commented.

Emma glanced back with a combination of regret and disgust. "She's insane- nearly ran me over with a car. Claimed I could stop it with 'magic'." Emma made air quotes with that.

Lydia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, trying to appear surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah." Emma laughed. "That's how crazy she is. I swear I'm not making this up!"

"No, I believe you."

"Emma!" came the woman's voice yet again. "Come back!"

Emma sighed. "Won't she give up?"

"What's her name?" Lydia inquired, trying to sound casual.

"Ingrid," came Emma's response. "Why?"

Lydia shrugged. "No reason, just curious." She grinned. "That's me; curious and nosy."

"Okay..."

 _If Ingrid thinks Emma has magic, maybe she does. Dad talked about the way to break "the curse": "Snow and her lovely new husband,"_ Lydia recalled. _"Their child is the key." Shame I don't know when the curse was enacted._

Lydia thought for a moment. _But I do know one year for certain at which "the curse" had most definitely been activated by._ "What year is it?"

Emma groaned. "Don't tell me I ran into ANOTHER nut-job!"

"No, I know," Lydia defended herself. "I just wanted to see if YOU know."

"Of course I know what year it is!" Emma scoffed and told Lydia exactly what she wanted to hear.

 _Shoot_ , Lydia thought, looking back to where she had first heard about Storybrooke. _I'm too early._

Ingrid's voice got louder, and I could hear footsteps. "Emma? Please, come back! We can figure this out together!"

Emma hesitated. "Look, I've got to go."

"Okay."

"It was nice meeting you!" Emma called, running off again.

"You, too," Lydia quietly replied.

Almost as soon as Emma was out of sight, another woman with blonde hair ran up, but her's was closer to white. "Did you see a young blonde girl run this way?"

Lydia nodded. "Yeah, we talked."

"You did? Which way did she go?"

"She's not going to want to talk to you," Lydia said. "You should give up."

Ingrid sighed and looked at the ground. "I was just trying to break the lock."

"You really think Emma has magic?"

"Yes. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

Lydia shook her head. "I believe you. Are you from the Enchanted Forest?"

"Arendelle, actually."

"Oh. Same planet," Lydia shrugged. Why did that name sound familiar?

Ingrid blinked. "So you're from the Enchanted Forest?"

Lydia nodded. "Yep. Do you have magic?"

"Yes, but not in this world."

 _Shoot, that probably means I don't, either._ "Ah. Then what made you think Emma would be able to stop a car with magic if magic doesn't exist here?"

"I figured her magic's power and her belief would be enough," Ingrid sighed.

"Well, you probably got the magic's power part... The belief, on the other hand..."

"I guess I'll have to try to convince her a different way," Ingrid mused. "It was great to meet someone else from my world, but I have to go now. Bye." Ingrid began walking off.

Lydia cocked her head in confusion. _"Convince her a different way"?_

A new thought struck her, and Lydia suddenly felt sick to her stomach from worry. _If there's no magic in this world, does that mean I'm stuck here?_

 **(...)**

Luckily, Lydia managed to transport herself further along in the time-stream. She had also teleported herself to somewhere different. Apparently, counting the fact that the scenery was different.

She was now in a...public restroom. _Thank goodness it's the Women's_ , Lydia thought to herself, walking out. The girl immediately found herself in a fancy restaurant.

"Miss, I'm afraid your attire does not meet our dress-code," came a voice from behind her. "You'll have to leave now."

Lydia turned and saw a man in a black suit standing behind her, his arms crossed behind him. She then looked down at her way-too casual outfit and blushed. "Sorry," Lydia apologized, walking towards the door.

In her hurry, Lydia almost bumped into a couple. The man had stood up and greeted the blonde woman in the red dress with, "Emma?"

 _"Emma?"_ Normally, Lydia wouldn't have cared one bit about someone's private business, but since she had just met an Emma who was thought to have magic...

Curiosity got the best of her, and she turned herself invisible to spy. This "Emma" had blonde hair, which was the same hair color the other Emma Lydia met had. _Talk about irony. Wait... Could she... No... That's not possible, right?_

"Ryan?" "Emma" asked, taking and shaking his hand. He grinned and chuckled. "You look relieved."

"Ryan" exhaled, smiling. "Um, well, it IS the Internet," he said, gesturing for "Emma" to sit down while he did the same. "Pictures could be-"

"-Fake, outdated, stolen from a Victoria's Secret Catalog," "Emma" finished with a smile. They both laughed nervously. "So..."

"So... Tell me something about yourself, Emma."

"Emma" blinked. "Oh, uh, well... Today's my birthday." She forced a smile.

"And you're spending it with me? What about your friends?" "Ryan" asked, leaning forward a little.

"Kind of a loner," Emma replied, shrugging. Lydia immediately thought of Perry- her best friend.

"And... You don't like your family?" _Why all the questions? That's just slightly freaky,_ Lydia thought.

"No family to like," came Emma's nonchalant response.

"Oh, come on," "Ryan" pushed. "Everyone has a family."

"Technically, yeah, but not everyone knows who they are." Lydia wished she could relate. "Ready to run yet?" "Emma" asked calmly, smiling.

"Ryan" chuckled. "Oh, not a chance. You, Emma, are, by far, the prettiest friendless orphan that I have ever met."

He chuckled again, and "Emma" giggled flirtatiously. "Okay, your turn. No, wait, let me guess." She grinned and continued. "Um, you are handsome, charming..."

"Ryan" raised his eyebrows. "Go on..."

"The kind of guy who- and, now, stop me if I get this wrong..." "Emma's" face fell serious, and Lydia quietly scooted a bit closer. "Embezzled from your employer, got arrested and skipped town before they could throw you in jail."

Lydia raised her eyebrows as "Ryan" chuckled nervously and forced a smile. "What?"

"And the worst part of all of this is your wife," "Emma" continued. "Ryan's" face fell as "Emma" went on. "Your wife loves you so much that she bailed you out, and how do you repay that loyalty? You're on a date."

"Who are you?"

"The girl who put up the rest of the money."

"You're a Bail Bondsman," "Ryan" realized, sitting up.

"A Bail Bonds-Person."

"Ryan" chuckled and tapped his fingers on the table before startling Lydia by standing up, turning the table over in the process. He then proceeded to run out of the restaurant.

"Emma" just sighed exasperatedly. "Really?" She turned and began walking after "Ryan".

Lydia followed. "Now this is exciting," she muttered, grinning.

She arrived in time to see "Ryan" running across the street, "Emma" walking calmly after him.

"Ryan" ran to his car and began trying to drive off. He failed to do so before "Emma" made it over. "Look, you don't have to do this, okay? I can pay you, I've got money."

"No, you don't, and if you did, you should give it to your wife to take care of your family."

"Ryan" narrowed his eyes. "What in the world do you know about family, huh?"

Lydia winced. _Not the question to ask an orphan, trust me._

Sure enough, a few seconds later, "Ryan" was lying unconscious against the steering wheel. "Nothing," "Emma" sighed.

 _Yep, it's her_. Lydia ran into an alleyway, turned herself visible again, and, after a couple minutes' thought, decided to make it look like she was twenty-three. _Emma obviously doesn't believe in magic- if I look exactly the same now that I did then, her reaction would be-_ Lydia didn't even want to think about it.

"Emma!" she called, running back onto the street.

The blonde turned and her eyes narrowed. "Do I know you?"

Lydia sighed and shook her head. "No, you wouldn't. We met a long time ago, and that was only once. I'm Lydia." She paused, then added, "Happy birthday!"

"How did you know that?"

"I heard you telling him."

"You were spying on me?"

Luckily, Lydia had managed to think of a quick save for herself. "No, I was technically spying on Ryan. That's what I had been sent to do by my...job."

Emma's eyes were still narrowed in suspicion.

"Could I celebrate with you?" Lydia asked.

After a few minutes of obvious thought, Emma sighed. "Fine." She turned around and began walking to her car, probably. "Come on."

 **(...)**

When they got to Emma's apartment, Emma leaned against the wall and kicked her pumps off. "Sorry about how small it is. It's just me here."

Lydia sat awkwardly on a chair as Emma pulled out a cupcake and a candle, lit the candle on fire, leaned on the table, and closed her eyes before blowing the candle out. Lydia was all prepared to make slightly awkward conversation, when the doorbell suddenly rang. "Were you expecting someone?"

Emma shook her head and walked to the door. She opened it and looked...down. That got Lydia curious enough to run over and peek out. A small boy with brown hair and a scarf was standing there. Emma blinked. "Uh... Can I help you?"

"Are you Emma Swan?" the boy asked.

Lydia pointed at Emma as she answered, "Yeah. Who are you?"

The boy's hesitation was barely noticeable. "My name's Henry. I'm your son."

 _What?!_ Emma and Lydia both stared for a couple minutes- Lydia's stare more of shock and Emma's more of confusion and suspicion.

Henry must have gotten impatient, because he walked under Emma's arm and squeezed between Lydia and the wall. "Whoa," Emma called. "Hey, kid. Kid. Kid!" She was obviously attempting to get him out. "I don't have a son!"

 _I must not exist anymore,_ Lydia thought to herself.

"Where are your parents?" Emma asked.

Henry turned back to Emma and Lydia. "Ten years ago, did you give up a baby for adoption?"

Emma stared. "That was me," Henry explained.

The blonde stood in shock for a moment before saying, "Give me a minute." She then proceeded to walk into the bathroom.

"Hey," Henry turned to Lydia. "You have any juice?"

"I don't live here."

Henry turned to the bathroom door. "Hey," he called again. "You have any juice?" He opened up the refrigerator door. "Never mind, found some!"

The boy was drinking the juice from the container when Emma walked out of the bathroom again. Henry smiled at her. "You know, we should probably get going."

Emma crossed her arms. "'Going' where?"

"I want you to come home with me."

"Okay, kid, I'm calling the cops." Emma walked over to her phone and picked it up.

"Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me," Henry responded nonchalantly. Emma immediately turned back to him.

"And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother," Emma realized.

"Yep."

"You're not gonna do that."

"Try me," Henry grinned.

"You're pretty good," Emma admitted. "But here's the thing: there's not a lot I'm great at in life, but I have one skill. Let's call it a superpower."

Lydia leaned forward. _Did Emma discover her magic?_

"I can tell when anyone is lying, and you, kid, are." Lydia leaned back again. _Shoot, nope_. Emma began dialing a number in.

"Wait," Henry tried again. "Please don't call the cops. Please. Come home with me."

Emma hesitated. "Where's home?"

"Storybrooke, Maine," Henry responded. _"Storybrooke"? Wow, I certainly came to the right place._

"Storybrooke?" Emma asked incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Mm-hmm."

"All righty, then," Emma sighed. "Let's get you back to Storybrooke."

She changed her clothes then walked out the door. Henry followed, a slightly smug smile on his face. Lydia smirked over at him. "Pretty good job, Henry."

"Thanks."

They all got in Emma's yellow buggy. This time, Lydia sat in a back seat, and Henry sat shotgun. It was awkwardly silent until Henry broke it. "I'm hungry. Do you want to stop somewhere?"

"This is not a road trip," Emma replied. "We're not stopping for snacks."

"Why not?"

"Quit complaining, kid," Emma retorted. "Remember, I could've put your bottom on a bus. I still could."

"You know, I have a name. It's Henry." He sighed and looked down at a book of his.

Emma glanced over at it for a millisecond. "What's that?"

"I'm not sure you're ready," Henry answered nonchalantly. Lydia chuckled. She liked him.

"Ready for some fairy tales?" Lydia could hear the grin in Emma's voice.

"They're not fairy tales, they're true." Lydia leaned forward. _Oh?_

"Every story in this book actually happened," Henry explained.

Emma sighed. "Of course it did."

"Use your superpower," Henry added smugly. "See if I'm lying."

The blonde looked over at Henry and hesitated. "Just because you believe something doesn't make it true."

"That's EXACTLY what makes it true," Henry countered. "You should know more than anyone."

"Why is that?"

"Because you're in this book."

Emma exhaled. "Oh, kid, you've got problems."

"Yep-" Lydia chuckled at that- "and you're gonna fix 'em."

They were silent for the rest of the drive. Emma drove into Storybrooke and then broke the silence. "Okay, kid, how about an address?"

"44 I'm-not-telling-you street."

Lydia chortled as Emma immediately stopped the car. The blonde stepped out of the car and slammed the door. Henry and Lydia got out five seconds later. "Look," Emma said, "it's been a long night, and it's almost-" they all glanced at the clock- "8:15?"

"That clock hasn't moved my whole life," Henry replied. "Time's frozen here."

Emma blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The Evil Queen did it with her curse." Now it was Lydia's turn to blink. "Storybrooke", "a curse", this kid turning up and taking her and Emma here...

"She sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here," Henry continued. And now the Enchanted Forest was coming into this... _I hit the jackpot_.

"Hang on. An evil queen sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here?" Lydia could hear the obvious and logical doubt in Emma's voice.

"Yeah, and now they're trapped."

"Frozen in time and stuck in Storybrooke, Maine," Emma commented. "That's what you're going with?"

Henry cleared his throat. "It's true."

"Then why doesn't everybody just leave?"

"They can't. If they try, bad things happen."

A man with glasses walking a dog came over to them. "Henry! What are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine, Archie." He bent down and petted the Dalmatian "Archie" was walking.

"Who is this?" "Archie" asked.

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home," Emma answered.

"Oh, she's my mom, Archie," Henry countered.

"Archie" blinked. "Oh... I see." He turned to Lydia. "And who are you?"

"I'm just someone revisiting an old friend," Lydia replied.

Emma hesitated. "Do you know where he lives?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just, uh, right up on Mifflin Street." "Archie" gestured with his head. "The Mayor's house is the biggest one on the block."

"You're the MAYOR'S kid?" Emma asked, looking down at Henry.

"Um... Maybe..."

"Hey, where were you today, Henry?" Archie inquired. "'Cause you missed our session."

"Oh, well, I forgot to tell you, I went on a field trip."

Lydia raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. _Seriously?_ Anyone could tell that was a lie.

And "Archie" was one of them. "Henry? What did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." _Tell that to my dad_.

"Okay..." Emma blinked and forced a smile. "Well, I really should be getting him home."

"Yeah, sure. Well, listen, um, have a good night, and, uh, you be good, Henry." He smiled and walked off.

Emma glanced down at Henry. "So that's your shrink?"

"I'm NOT crazy."

"Didn't say that. Just..." Emma shrugged. "He doesn't seem 'cursed' to me. Maybe he's just trying to help you."

"He's the one who needs help because he doesn't know," came Henry's response.

"...That he's a fairy tale character?"

"None of them do. They don't remember who they are."

Emma exhaled. "Convenient. All right, I'll play. Who's he supposed to be?"

"Jimmy Cricket," Henry replied, climbing back into the car. Emma and Lydia followed.

"Right. The lying thing." Lydia could hear Emma grin. "Thought your nose grew a little bit."

"I'm not Pinocchio."

"Of course you're not, 'cause that would be ridiculous." She ignited the car and drove it to Henry's house.

 **(...)**

Lydia sat in the car as Emma walked Henry up to his home. She couldn't hear anything, so she settled for watching.

Emma and Henry must have been talking on the way up the path because they suddenly stopped and faced each other. After a minute, Emma bent down to Henry's eye level and said something.

Almost immediately after she said that, the door opened, and a woman with black hair raced out and hugged him. A very familiar black-haired woman.

It took Lydia a minute to place it. Suddenly, it hit her. "She's the woman I saw talking to Dad!" Lydia realized out loud. "And that dark-skinned guy in the office!"

Henry pulled himself out of the woman's arms and yelled something at her before running inside. The woman stood up and looked at Emma, and they talked a little bit before walking inside the house and closing the door behind them.

"Guess that's a sign for me to split," Lydia muttered, crawling out of the car. "I'll look around Storybrooke."

The streets were mostly empty, but it was night, so that made sense. After seeing "Archie"/"Jiminy", Lydia didn't see anyone for a little while.

She eventually sat down on a bench, and that's when she heard footsteps. And a third beat. Lydia turned to look. An all-too familiar man with stringy brown hair and a cane was walking down the sidewalk. She immediately stood up and stared at him. He stared back. _Is that..._ Dad _?!_

 **Dun, dun, dun! Isn't that a place to leave you for a few months? Bye!**


End file.
